It’s actually a little bit of everything.
“We’re splitting up into teams and we’re going to do a bunch of different activities here, one will be basketball, an obstacle course, a couple of things that we’ll have this competition between everybody,” Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton said.
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Dalton was one of the six captains who picked their teams via a schoolyard pick. The other five were Geno Atkins, Cedric Peerman, A.J. Green, Clint Boling and Vinny Rey.
“My strategy was to take the linebackers,” said Rey, one of the 11 linebackers on the roster. “I feel we’re just as athletic, but we’re also tough and strong.”
The captains began by picking players over 300 pounds, then 240-299 and 239 and under.
Rey’s first pick was 305-pound tackle Jake Fisher.
“Because it’s not just strength stuff,” he said. “You’ve got to do athletic stuff. We’ve got 300-pounders who have to shoot 3-pointers and stuff like that.”
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Wide receiver Alex Erickson was an all-state basketball player in high school in Wisconsin, and Dalton has showed he can drain 3-pointers on a consistent basis.
“We have a lot of shooters on this team,” Dalton said, adding that the team is taking the competition seriously.
“We were in there earlier and they were cleaning glass,” he said. “They put a new net on. I think we’re a basketball team. They have a clean backboard to shoot at.”
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The participants on the winning teams in the past have been rewarded with the prime parking spots in the player lot usually reserved for the veterans, with the perk running through training camp.
“There’s a lot of bragging rights and we’re all competitors, so it gets pretty competitive,” said Rey, who was on the winning volleyball team last year.
As for bowling….
“No way,” he said with a laugh. “I just try to break 100.”
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The annual event wraps the end of the voluntary portion of the offseason workout program ahead of next week’s mandatory minicamp, which will be followed by a five-week break for the start of training camp July 27.
“It’s team bonding and it’s fun for everyone, too, because you’re competing, cheering your guys on,” Dalton said. “It makes it fun, and it’s a good end to OTAs.”
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